“It has been said that Benny was a good man, but I think that Benny was a great man,” Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones said during the funeral service. “A great man because he was selfless and he was not unwilling to give of his time to his community.”

Lambert served three decades in the Virginia General Assembly and was the first African-American to serve on the Virginia Senate Finance Committee.

Lambert’s political career began when he was elected to Virginia’s House of Delegates in 1977. Lambert was then elected to the Virginia Senate in 1985. He took over the seat former Virginia Governor Doug Wilder held when Wilder became Lt. Governor of Virginia.

During his tenure, Lambert served on a number of committees and chaired several subcommittees.